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Drug-maker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited has stirred the pot on Favipiravir, by pricing its version of the anti-viral drug at ₹35 for a tablet.
Favipiravir is an oral anti-viral treatment used for the potential treatment of patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 disease and Sun’s pricing is the lowest, yet.
Glenmark had been the first to launch the product at ₹103 per tablet, but subsequently cut the price to ₹75 for a 200 mg tablet. Others in the fray include Cipla, whose version of the anti-viral is pegged at ₹Rs 68 per tablet and then come Hetero and Brinton at ₹59 per tablet.
Favipiravir is the generic version of Avigan from Japan’s Toyama Chemical. And the Indian market has more companies waiting in the wings to launch their versions. Producers of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) used in making the final drug are poised to launch their own brand or supply other drugmakers waiting to bring out their version of the drug.
But this competition comes even as a section of doctors in India hesitate to use the drug, given reports of inconclusive results from a study on the drug in Japan. At one time, the drug was being seen as a treatment solution for Covid-19.
There are, however, doctors who also say that the drug shows enough evidence for use in the treatment of Covid. Sun’s product launched under the brand FluGuard will be available from this week, the company said.
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